He described a recent phone call with a college student about to graduate:

“Is Google hiring?” the grad asked.

While it should have been clear to the applicant that Google was “hiring lots of people,” Bock told the audience, he gave the applicant a straight answer: “Yes.”

(Google has been widely described as a major creator of new jobs, but the grad obviously “hadn’t done that kind of simple homework.”)

The grad’s next question:

“Well, how would I find out what jobs you have open?”

Bock’s reply, amid laughter from the audience: “You would go to Google and search for ‘jobs.’”

Such behavior is surprisingly common, Bock said, and hampers people’s progress throughout their careers.

Often, “the difference between getting a job and not is, ‘Are you more prepared for that conversation, that interview, than the other 100 people who want that job?’” he said.

“The single skill which in your career will most drive your compensation, I believe, is how well you interview,” Bock said. “It’s how you tell your story. And people don’t practice it, they don’t think about it.”

Readers, how do you prepare for job interviews? Have you interviewed anyone who was dismally unprepared? What happened?

About At Work

Written and edited by The Wall Street Journal’s Management & Careers group, At Work covers life on the job, from getting ahead to managing staff to finding passion and purpose in the office. Tips, questions? email us.